Her Feast Day in the Traditional Calendar is 15 May, but she is honoured today in the Calendar of Paul VI.
From Aleteia
By Br Silas Henderson, SDS
Patron Saint of the Mentally Ill
Her life
+ The life of this patron of those suffering from mental illness and nervous disorders is shrouded in myth and legend.
+ According to early accounts, she was born in Ireland to a pagan father and Christian mother; her father, Damon, was a minor king in Oriel.
+ As a young woman, Dymphna consecrated herself to Christ and took a vow of virginity. However, her mother died a short time later and the loss caused Damon to suffer a mental and emotional breakdown. He decided to take his daughter, Dymphna, as his new wife.
+ Dymphna and her confessor, Gerebernus, fled to what is present-day Belgium and settled in the town of Geel. One tradition states that she established a hospice for the sick and poor.
+ Damon eventually found her and, after she again refused to become his bride, he murdered her with his own hand. The soldiers accompanying Damon murdered Gerebernus.
+ The relics of Saint Dymphna were enshrined in Geel and as her story spread, those suffering from various mental and nervous disorders came to her sanctuary seeking a cure. For more than 500 years, Geel has been a center of study and treatment for mental health issues.
+ Although Saint Dymphna is traditionally honored in some places on May 15, the Deformed Roman Martyrology designates May 30 as her proper memorial.
Spiritual bonus
On this day, the Church also celebrates the memory of Saint Joan of Arc, the “Maid of Orleans.” An unlikely saint and soldier, the teenaged Joan help restore King Charles II to the throne of France and bring an end to the Hundred Years War. Condemned as a heretic in a highly politicized show trial, she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. Her innocence was posthumously declared in 1456 and she was canonized in 1920. Today, she is honored as a patron saint of France and of soldiers.
For reflection
“He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare,
from the destroying plague,
He will shelter you with his pinions, and under his wings you may take refuge; his faithfulness is a protecting shield.”—Psalm 91:3-4
Prayer
Let us pray.
O God, who amongst the other miracles of Thy power hast bestowed the victory of martyrdom even upon the weaker sex, graciously grant that we who commemorate the anniversary of the death of Blessed Dymphna, Thy Virgin and Martyr, may come to Thee by the path of her example.
O God, who amongst the other miracles of Thy power hast bestowed the victory of martyrdom even upon the weaker sex, graciously grant that we who commemorate the anniversary of the death of Blessed Dymphna, Thy Virgin and Martyr, may come to Thee by the path of her example.
Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.
(From the Roman Missal, 1960, Common of One Martyr.)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are subject to deletion if they are not germane. I have no problem with a bit of colourful language, but blasphemy or depraved profanity will not be allowed. Attacks on the Catholic Faith will not be tolerated. Comments will be deleted that are republican (Yanks! Note the lower case 'r'!), attacks on the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ (I know he's a material heretic and a Protector of Perverts, and I definitely want him gone yesterday! However, he is Pope, and I pray for him every day.), the legitimacy of the House of Windsor or of the claims of the Elder Line of the House of France, or attacks on the legitimacy of any of the currently ruling Houses of Europe.